Palm Beach County is set to approve prayer meetings in schools.
The Boca Raton News reports:
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Palm Beach County School Board is set to approve a policy that permits religious meetings on school grounds and during the school day. BocaNewsNow.com first reported on the controversial proposal in January. BocaNewsNow.com has now learned the policy is set to be approved at the School Board’s March 2nd meeting.
In the simplest of terms, the next time you hear a student shout, “Jesus Christ” in a Palm Beach County School District public school building, it may not be due to a bad test score. It could be part of a meeting taking place down the hallway. https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-5926105894443862&output=html&h=187&slotname=8254940523&adk=875441547&adf=4220832208&pi=t.ma~as.8254940523&w=747&fwrn=4&lmt=1644372623&rafmt=11&psa=0&format=747×187&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbocanewsnow.com%2F2022%2F02%2F08%2Fprayer-meetings-in-palm-beach-county-schools-set-to-be-approved%2F&flash=0&host=ca-host-pub-2644536267352236&wgl=1&dt=1644372623166&bpp=1&bdt=499&idt=444&shv=r20220207&mjsv=m202202010101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&prev_fmts=0x0%2C1112x200%2C716x90&nras=1&correlator=7283391033743&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=256188619.1644372624&ga_sid=1644372624&ga_hid=1915881953&ga_fc=1&rplot=4&u_tz=-300&u_his=1&u_h=1112&u_w=834&u_ah=834&u_aw=1112&u_cd=32&u_sd=2&adx=22&ady=2097&biw=1112&bih=728&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=42531398&oid=2&pvsid=3347075741504762&pem=580&tmod=698260812&nvt=1&eae=0&fc=1920&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1112%2C0%2C1112%2C834%2C1112%2C728&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CoeEbr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=4&uci=a!4&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=njmrZwxB3S&p=https%3A//bocanewsnow.com&dtd=490
In the simplest of terms, the next time you hear a student shout, “Jesus Christ” in a Palm Beach County School District public school building, it may not be due to a bad test score. It could be part of a meeting taking place down the hallway.
A draft copy of the language expected to be approved includes these paragraphs: “A student may pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that a student may engage in secular activities or expression.”
Additionally, “A student may organize prayer groups, religion clubs, and other religious gatherings before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to organize secular activities and groups.”
“The Palm Beach County School District shall give religious groups access to the same school facilities for assembling as given to secular groups without discrimination based on the religious content of the group’s expression.”https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-5926105894443862&output=html&h=187&slotname=8254940523&adk=2978207074&adf=2017941226&pi=t.ma~as.8254940523&w=747&fwrn=4&lmt=1644372623&rafmt=11&psa=0&format=747×187&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbocanewsnow.com%2F2022%2F02%2F08%2Fprayer-meetings-in-palm-beach-county-schools-set-to-be-approved%2F&flash=0&host=ca-host-pub-2644536267352236&wgl=1&dt=1644372623166&bpp=2&bdt=499&idt=445&shv=r20220207&mjsv=m202202010101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&prev_fmts=0x0%2C1112x200%2C716x90%2C747x187&nras=1&correlator=7283391033743&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=256188619.1644372624&ga_sid=1644372624&ga_hid=1915881953&ga_fc=1&rplot=4&u_tz=-300&u_his=1&u_h=1112&u_w=834&u_ah=834&u_aw=1112&u_cd=32&u_sd=2&adx=22&ady=2947&biw=1112&bih=728&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=42531398&oid=2&pvsid=3347075741504762&pem=580&tmod=698260812&nvt=1&eae=0&fc=1920&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1112%2C0%2C1112%2C834%2C1112%2C728&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CoeEbr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=5&uci=a!5&btvi=2&fsb=1&xpc=HpSuBaGe8E&p=https%3A//bocanewsnow.com&dtd=493
“A group that meets for prayer or other religious speech may advertise or announce its meetings in the same manner and to the same extent that a secular group may advertise or announce its meetings.”
While permitting religion in schools, the Palm Beach County School Board is simultaneously creating new rules to govern student speech. Among them: “(School officials) must ensure that a student speaker does not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech…” There is notably no definition of “indecent” included in the policy.
BocaNewsNow.com has learned that several organizations are considering legal action over several elements of the new policy, but are waiting for the School Board to vote it into effect.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
BCWYPF
Jon, I don’t know that acronym
Be Careful What You Pray For
Just a way of saying these fools have no way of predicting what havoc they cry when they let slip the dogmas of religious war … taking on the job of saying what’s a religion and what’s not … just for starters …
Satanists have a church. Also the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Meatball.
Flying Spaghetti Monster … they even have an official emoji-gif …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster
Don’t tell me that you’ve contracted AIIDS.
*AIIDS = Acronym Identification Impairment Disorder Syndrome. To be included in the DSM-X
Duane, that’s a good one! I’d like to request that all posters minimize acronyms and abbreviations. Their use–everywhere, not just here–has become so pervasive, that they frequently SLOW communication rather than facilitate it. I have often consulted online indexes, which give myriad possibilities, but the mystery letters I seek are not to be found in the first 2-3 dozen at which point my patience gives out.
I don’t know if you’ve heard about this newfangled thing on the interwebs called Google. If you type in acronyms–if you are sentient being that is–it usually doesn’t take much to figure it out. (Oddly, that can be done with other things too!) Indeed, when I looked up BCWYPF, it was all over the results page. Consider this suggestion a public service. Plus doing so regularly will make you sound hip.
Duane: you may wish to join my national organization. I call it the National Association for the Abolishment of Anachronistic and Atrocious Acronyms. Or you can call it theN5A. Right now we are organizing a march on the English Department at several major universities, most of which are known by their initials. To wit: UCLA, UNLV, etc
WD, Mark! YWIMC!
Greg, I’m not interested in “sounding hip”, only in clear communication. I am well aware of the internet, and sometimes, as with BCWYPF, the meaning comes right up. Other times, there is a LONG list, as you are apparently aware (as a sentient being) by your use of the word “usually”. I was simple “suggesting, as a public service,” that people limit acronyms and abbreviations so as to communicate more rapidly and clearly. As my 7th grade public school English teacher used to say, “When in doubt, spell it out.”
I understand completely, Mark. I also constantly have to look up these acronyms that I get in text messages. But so it is with language. It changes.
Lighten up, Mark! I thought my use of the word interwebs (for which I have to fight my damn spellcheck) made my intent clear. Still can’t figure out how all these boxes keep doing this stuff with no wires attached.
Greg, Thanks for clarifying. I did consider that you were not serious, but when I didn’t see a WFE* — which I thought was the standard and hip way to indicate that, when communicating in cold print — I assumed you were serious. And “interwebs” didn’t register.
*WFE = winky face emoji.
Mark, Greg, you are referring, I suppose, to the tubular interwebs? Very exciting!
Roy, N5A?
Isn’t that a rap group?
To be perfectly serious (if that is even possible). There is a simple solution that has been around for many years. . .
The first time one wants to use an acronym one should write out what one is saying with the acronym following in parenthesis (or is that parentheses-is a pair considered singular in this case).
Using Roy’s example: “I call it the National Association for the Abolishment of Anachronistic and Atrocious Acronyms. (N5A)”
Didn’t we all take an English grammar/writing course along the way in our schooling?
Jon Awbrey:
May his, her, its noodly appendages wrap you in serene bliss!
The right-wingers went to court to win the right to have a nativity scene at the state capitol in Tallahassee, and they won. So now there is a crèche each year on the capitol grounds and, next to that, the Church of Satan Holiday display. I wish I were making this up.
And then there’s this:
https://americasbestpics.com/meme/che-of-lamer-day-dude-dance-grow-things-try-not-3p957qX48
You guys totally failed even to mention The Church of Bob!
AKA The Church of the Subgenius
Church of Bob?
Reminds me of an inappropriate joke from childhood.
The Church of Bob (aka The Church of the Subdude) is another of these satirical churches like the Pastafarians.
Any and all religions are subject to joking about! Including my lack of one!
My Lord, Duane. Did you misplace your religion again? Look around the place. It must be there somewhere. If you can’t find it, there are plenty of interesting new ones on the Internet.
Nah, didn’t misplace it. Never had it to begin with. From very early on in my Catholic k-12 schooling I knew something wasn’t right.
Duane, so sorry you were deprived early on, but this can be remedied. Simply send a 12-inch stack of 50-dollar bills to Enlighten Master Bob’s account in the Cayman Islands, and we’ll send you our Certificate of Salvation, good at any post-life accounting of your sins. Think of this as your Eternal Life get out of jail free card. Easy peasy.
Exactly. In the 80’s in an L.A. Unified High School, there was a Satanist club at lunch time. I called the school and asked whether or not this was “a bit much.” I was told that if there is a teacher sponsor (there was) and other groups like the Christian group on campus, they had to allow it. Also, they believed it would run its course. It did, but at first there was no place to sit and kids were hanging out the windows. So those who want prayer clubs are going to have to accept all the other groups, too. Many teachers don’t even understand the reason for the separation of Church and State.
Why did you consider the Satanist club “a bit much”?
Ed reformers announce they’ll be using “culture wars” to promote vouchers:
“Conventional wisdom holds that the culture war is bad for school choice advocates. But, as a nationally representative survey shows, it could be extremely helpful for promoting education scholarship accounts, tax credit scholarships, and school vouchers. Whether education reform organizations embrace cultural debates or not, the culture war is here to stay. School choice advocates are armed with an obvious solution. They should not squander the opportunity to use it.”
Just complete and utter disregard for public schools and public school students. Our schools and students are just political fodder for them to promote the “choice” agenda.
85% of the families and students in this country are ideologically incorrect because their schools are public, so won’t be considered at all.
No pushback at all to this from the ed reform echo chamber, just like there was no pushback to the CRT panic or the mask and vaccine wars. Public schools and public school students exist only to be used to promote the political and ideological goals of ed reformers. There’s not even an attempt to show any benefit at all to public school students in any of this work. They return no value AT ALL to public schools and public school students and that is apparently just fine in the ed reform echo chamber.
At what point will one of the huge and lavishly funded “ed reform groups” defend public schools and public school students? What would it take for them to break ranks and criticize a fellow “movement” member?
https://www.heritage.org/education/report/time-the-school-choice-movement-embrace-the-culture-war
The culture war’s goal from the beginning (Weyrich to Gates) has been the elimination of the state’s role in and, funding for human services.
Bellwether recommended ed reformers reach out to churches.
Tax dollars have made Catholic organizations, the nation’s 3rd largest employer. As employers, religious groups are much less likely to have unions and they pay employees significantly less. (Down the road, it is easier for libertarians to defund religious groups than public owned institutions.)
Conservative religious SCOTUS jurists exempted religious schools from civil rights employment law and they forced funding of religious schools. All of it is integral to the culture war/unfettered capitalism campaign.
Interesting anecdote from yesterday- I talked with a sixth grader who attends a Catholic school. He was unhappy with the new Spanish teacher. She admonished the class by saying, “My third grade class at the public school was better than you are.” hmmm, so much to unpack there.
When the libertarians of Hillsdale College merged with conservatives from the two major religious sects, the school’s influence in turning the nation away from the model of Western European democracy grew significantly.
Perfect. So when students want to hold a satanic ritual based on religious freedom, that won’t be a problem, right?
See the holiday displays at the state capitol in Flor-uh-duh, which include one from the Church of Satan,
I can see the future with kids just being kids–coming to school wearing colanders on their heads for a Pastafarian assembly. School officials won’t be able to do anything about the headgear, wouldn’t want to violate a student’s religious rights. Cooked spaghetti and fettucine hanging from the ceiling to symbolize all his wondrous noodly appendages. And then they can actually eat his noodly appendages (not like the Catholic pseudo eating of their sky-daddy’s flesh and blood)
West Virginia Students Fought Back. They Staged A Walkout After Their High School Hosted A “Christian Revival” Which They Were Forced To Attend.
Teachers told students that during a non-instructive class period called COMPASS, they had to go to an assembly where a Christian prayer revival was set to take place. At the assembly, teens were told to close their eyes, raise their arms in prayer and give their lives to Jesus Christ. They were also told that if they didn’t follow the Bible, they would go to hell after they died.
According to reporting from The Associated Press, one student texted his parent, asking, “Is this legal? Once students were at the revival and tried to leave, some were told they couldn’t do so. A Jewish student reported being told they “needed to stay” at the assembly because the classrooms were locked and unsupervised.
While the event may have been quietly billed as “optional”, there were no other options available for students who didn’t want to attend.
https://truthout.org/articles/west-virginia-students-stage-walkout-after-school-hosts-christian-revival/
No other options- the right wing’s goal- Christian nationalism
Wrapped in religion … Is this a form of “MODERN SLAVERY.”
yes.
The danger is not in the policy itself, but in the way it may be misused by outside zealots to disrupt the educational mission of the school. That is already apparent in another comment here from Kathy describing WV students FORCED to attend such a program.
However, basic issue of VOLUNTARY use was previously established by the Supreme Court in the case: Good News Club vs. Milford Central School (2001). The decision was 5-4 in favor of the student religious club, with Justice Breyer agreeing with part of the decision, but disagreeing overall. The majority found that the use of the school for a student religious club was permitted under a specific NYS law concerning use of school facilities by community groups.
I happened to live in that area until 2006, and was very familiar with the case, which took 2 years to move through NY courts to the Supreme Court. Life went on with little interruption. However, I was not involved in any way, am not a lawyer, and not involved in organized religion. Accounts of the case are readily available online, including–in one of the court documents–a specific schedule of the activities at each weekly meeting.
One major difference between this Palm Beach County policy and that of the Milford School, is that the Milford Good News Club met after school, whereas the Palm Beach policy will allow religious activities during the school day. It will be interesting to see if –or how(?!) — zealots will try to make such activities mandatory, and what the reaction of the school, the county, and the courts will be.
“Additionally, ‘A student may organize prayer groups, religion clubs, and other religious gatherings before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to organize secular activities and groups.’ “
An informed analysis, Mark!
Xtian fundie madrassas. A christian caliphate. Only the xtian sky-daddy can save us.
In other words xtian faith belief insanities.
Christian Sharia Law, coming soon to a state near you
Yup
Taxpayers have made Catholic organizations the 3rd largest U.S. employer (fewer union members and less pay).
In 2020, SCOTUS’ 6 member conservative Catholic majority began a campaign for theocracy by exempting religion’s employment sectors, first, its schools, from civil rights employment law.
As a second example of the trending, a Catholic Bishop prohibited his priests from voting in a Democratic primary, by authority of his state Catholic Conference. The state Catholic Conferences are leaders in passing school choice legislation e.g. Indiana and, they politick in almost every state.
Do you suppose they will allow student members of the Native American Church to eat Peyote during school?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_Church
If so, I bet that school district will become very popular.
Only if it’s kosher.
Great Idea!
But we got there first here at Enlightened Master Bob’s Ayahuasca School for Little Cosmic Voyagers!
Little Known Fact: We at Enlightened Master Bob’s Ayahuasca School for Little Cosmic Voyagers are in possession of a piece of the True Cross!!!
We’re a splinter group.
Great!
I also like the school that found a likeness of Mary the Mother of Jesus-on a pizza pan.
The Teachings of Master Bob: the Yacky Way of Knowledge
lol
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. –William Blake
The Yaqui Way of Recess!
LOL. Be careful what you pray for, Palm Beach:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/modern-paganism-witches
All kidding aside, it’s probably a good idea for people to review federal law regarding religion in school. It’s more complex than many people realize it to be:
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html
The Boca Raton proposal seems in keeping with current federal guidance regarding the relevant law. If I am wrong about that, let me know.
According to this guidance from the USDE, students may on school grounds, using school facilities, participate in religious activities, such as prayer groups, individual prayer, or scriptural readings and study before and after school and on their own time during school, as during lunch or recess periods, but teachers and administrators, being representatives of the school, cannot participate in these, though they can be present as moderators. Where does that leave a coach who leads a prayer at the meeting, held in school, of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)? Is that a violation of federal law? The FCA doesn’t think so, and neither do a lot of public-school systems in Florida and elsewhere. However, as I read the guidance, it would be.
Comments, clarifications, anyone?
Bob, I agree with you regarding the coach violating the law, because he is an employ paid to teach an activity approved by the school board and funded by the public.
BUT, what if that coach is volunteering (without pay) to teach interested students a non-official (re the board) physical activity like, say, “Olympic race walking for fitness?” Can that coach lead a voluntary prayer with students?
That appears to be acceptable under USDE guidance, and parallel to my example above, of the Good News Club at Milford School in NYS, led by an unpaid parent volunteer, and upheld by the Supreme Court.
All that makes sense, Mark!
Will there be space for Muslim students, and can they shout Allah Akhbar! without repercussions? It is a legit phrase, unfortunately used by terrorists, but it can apply in many settings, maybe even acing a test. It means “God is great!” and is equivalent to “Thank you, Jesus!”
And, as Bob pointed out above, what of Wiccans? Or any non-Christians?
And, btw, off topic, have you commented on the school board member (Jennifer Kehs) in PA who’s worried “illegal” adults are going to school? And whose husband is a CONVICTED child rapist? He admitted to raping his girlfriend’s six year old daughter back in the early 90s, but the community doesn’t seem as concerned about that. Hoardes of “illegal adults” attending high school is much more important. Also mask mandates.
I will look into that.
Years ago, a person who knocked on my NYC apartment door introduced himself as a neighbor in the building & asked me to sign a petition to permit NYC public school students to form prayer groups that would meet on school grounds during school hours, similar to the policy described in this article. I took it as a sincere, well-intentioned request & was willing to have a discussion about it; I expected that someone circulating a petition would be happy to have an opportunity to speak at more length about their cause. I said, “Well, what concerns me is that some students who follow minority religions might feel excluded, even if that isn’t the intent. For instance, students who are Jewish like me might feel ostracized.” (Keep in mind that within NYC borders is the largest population of Jews of any city in the world, including Tel Aviv, but even here Jews are a minority.)
His demeanor immediately changed from neighborly to shock & horror. “OH! You’re Jewish?? I didn’t know you were Jewish!” He couldn’t get away fast enough, striding down the hall to the stairs. I can’t help wondering if the religious faithful of Palm Beach County & West Virginia have a similar view.
NYC public schools still don’t have prayer meetings, so far.